Mississippi Trial 1955 was one of the better Reading Bowl books. It showed how people can change as they get older and no one's personality stays the same. Hiram's dad had gone through changes as Grampa said in his stories. I could really see the pain the old man had gone through with his own son not obeying him and not having any interests with his father. That was one of the more sad parts of the story but it's always good to see everyone's point of view. There were many characters in the Delta that had nothing in common and very different personalities. R.C. was definitely one of the. I always thought that R.C. would be trouble from the way he treated Hiram at the very beginning. This proved to be true when they went on their fishing trip when they were still young. The way he mutilated the fish made my suspicions be accurate. After Hiram returned from Arizona, R.C. cutting up fish became a recurring theme. But this time he took it too far. When R.C. was taunting Emmet with the fish guts I thought that would be about it, but when he shoved them into his mouth I thought I was going to puke. When R.C. came back from Jackson at the end and beat up his dad I thought of it as karma for him but it was still a little unnecessary at the end but R.C. doesn't know when to stop so it probably suited him just fine. Hiram, I thought, was a great person who is like half of his father and half of his grandfather. Both of the combinations made him very stubborn especially about his decision about the trial. Hiram had no business with R.C. even though they seemed to get along decently as kids. I thought the theme of the book was to understand others for what they think and that eventually unjust things will be sorted out. Mississippi trial was an exceptional book that is currently #2 on my list under House of the Scorpion. Jake S.
I thought that Mississippi Trial 1955 was an interesting book. Hiram was one of my favorite characters. It was interesting to see how his opinion changed throughout the book. I really enjoyed seeing his opinions of other characters. First he thought that R.C. was okay, but then as the story progressed he started to dislike R.C. more and more. I never liked R.C., not ever, not one little bit. From the moment he stole Hiram’s lunch bag at the begging, to the end when he told Hiram he killed his father, (not that I liked his father), I knew he was mean and troublesome. The thing I hated most that he did was what he did to Emmitt. What he did was so discussing I had to put down my book and calm down, and try not to throw up. It was cruel. Also it was interesting to see how his relationship with his grandfather changed. First he was that little boy who worshiped his grandfather. Then he was more into what his grandfather was about, he spent a lot of time trying to figure out his grandfather, you know, what makes his grandfather tick. Also he takes care of his grandfather and worries about hi grandfather’s health, I thought it was cute that he cared so much. At the end of the book when it said that the grandfather was the other person in the car I was horrified. I was disgusted. On a happier note, I loved the whole little thing with Naomi. I liked how all of the bad drama seemed to melt away when Hiram and Naomi are together. It was a nice to have a break from all of the bad things and to focus on the romance. I thought it would have been better if Naomi went back to Arizona with Hiram in the end. That would have made the ending better. Though the whole book I just wanted the bad people to get caught and the good people to have a perfect ending. Becca S.
Mississippi Trial was one of my favorite reading bowl books. I thought the book started off pretty slow with not a lot of action, but it started to get very intense after the part where his grandmother died. My favorite character in the story was Hiram. He seemed like just a regular kid that wanted to be a farmer like his grandfather. For example, when a black guy was working in his grandfather’s fields, Hiram wanted to help. My least favorite character was definitely R.C. From the beginning of the book it seemed like he was an ok kid that just had some social problems, but when the part came when R.C cut the fish, and pored the blood all over Emmet, that’s when I really started to hate him. I thought it would be great for Hiram to have Emmet as a friend, because he would have had a good friend that’s good hearted to hang out with, instead of R.C. The scene that sticks out most to me is when Hiram’s neighbor told Hiram that he saw Hiram’s grandfather in the same car that the people who kidnapped Emmet in. This scene sticks out to me because I had a lot of respect for Hiram’s grandfather, because he seemed to be a loving, caring person, but when I read that it gave me a bad taste in my mouth. I also think he was irresponsible then, because he should have either told Hiram that he was there that night, or said something to the sheriff, because he should have know that someone was bound to find out that he was in the car, so why not speak up now. I liked the ending, but it kind of let you hanging when Hiram’s father asked if he loved him, but I think it was a good ending to. I’m also really glad that Hiram ended up seeing Naomi before he left. Dean F.
Mississippi Trial 1955 was a great book, and it has been my favorite so far. I think this book was really great because of how much the characters changed throughout the story, especially Hiram. At the beginning of the book, Hiram hadn’t seen hatred and racism. He thought his grandfather was the best person in the entire world and his dad was evil. At the end of the book, he had seen his dad’s point of view, and he had seen the flaws of his grandfather. He saw the world as it really was, and began to understand. My favorite character was Naomi because even though all she was going through with her family, she still cared enough about Hiram to convince him to not testify in court. I absolutely hated R.C., but I wasn’t sure how I felt about Grampa. I thought Grampa would end up being one of my favorite characters at the beginning of the book. At the end, I was so upset with him, not only because he was involved in the kidnapping. It really made me angry that he gave Hiram no support whatsoever. Hiram was obviously upset, but Grampa just responded by saying he didn’t know what he was talking about. I think many themes are presented in this book as well. Family, race, and ethics are just a few. One of the things I noticed was that there was more than one conflict. The main conflict was that Emmett had been murdered and the police need to find the murderer. Another one that I found very interesting was Hiram’s relationship with his father. It was interesting to see how the two conflicts affected each other. I see how it would impact Hiram and Grampa, but I don’t see how the scene where Gramma died fit into the story. It was significant, but I think the story could have started off with her not there and be just as understandable. I really liked how the author put humor and happiness every so often into the story. The scene with Ralph was really funny, and the scenes with Naomi always lightened the mood. They made the story seem to be not completely a tragedy. Mississippi Trial 1955 was my favorite reading bowl book so far.-Sarah H.
Mississippi Trial 1955 by Chris Crowe
Mississippi Trial 1955 was one of the better Reading Bowl books. It showed how people can change as they get older and no one's personality stays the same. Hiram's dad had gone through changes as Grampa said in his stories. I could really see the pain the old man had gone through with his own son not obeying him and not having any interests with his father. That was one of the more sad parts of the story but it's always good to see everyone's point of view. There were many characters in the Delta that had nothing in common and very different personalities. R.C. was definitely one of the. I always thought that R.C. would be trouble from the way he treated Hiram at the very beginning. This proved to be true when they went on their fishing trip when they were still young. The way he mutilated the fish made my suspicions be accurate. After Hiram returned from Arizona, R.C. cutting up fish became a recurring theme. But this time he took it too far. When R.C. was taunting Emmet with the fish guts I thought that would be about it, but when he shoved them into his mouth I thought I was going to puke. When R.C. came back from Jackson at the end and beat up his dad I thought of it as karma for him but it was still a little unnecessary at the end but R.C. doesn't know when to stop so it probably suited him just fine. Hiram, I thought, was a great person who is like half of his father and half of his grandfather. Both of the combinations made him very stubborn especially about his decision about the trial. Hiram had no business with R.C. even though they seemed to get along decently as kids. I thought the theme of the book was to understand others for what they think and that eventually unjust things will be sorted out. Mississippi trial was an exceptional book that is currently #2 on my list under House of the Scorpion. Jake S.
I thought that Mississippi Trial 1955 was an interesting book. Hiram was one of my favorite characters. It was interesting to see how his opinion changed throughout the book. I really enjoyed seeing his opinions of other characters. First he thought that R.C. was okay, but then as the story progressed he started to dislike R.C. more and more. I never liked R.C., not ever, not one little bit. From the moment he stole Hiram’s lunch bag at the begging, to the end when he told Hiram he killed his father, (not that I liked his father), I knew he was mean and troublesome. The thing I hated most that he did was what he did to Emmitt. What he did was so discussing I had to put down my book and calm down, and try not to throw up. It was cruel. Also it was interesting to see how his relationship with his grandfather changed. First he was that little boy who worshiped his grandfather. Then he was more into what his grandfather was about, he spent a lot of time trying to figure out his grandfather, you know, what makes his grandfather tick. Also he takes care of his grandfather and worries about hi grandfather’s health, I thought it was cute that he cared so much. At the end of the book when it said that the grandfather was the other person in the car I was horrified. I was disgusted. On a happier note, I loved the whole little thing with Naomi. I liked how all of the bad drama seemed to melt away when Hiram and Naomi are together. It was a nice to have a break from all of the bad things and to focus on the romance. I thought it would have been better if Naomi went back to Arizona with Hiram in the end. That would have made the ending better. Though the whole book I just wanted the bad people to get caught and the good people to have a perfect ending. Becca S.
Mississippi Trial was one of my favorite reading bowl books. I thought the book started off pretty slow with not a lot of action, but it started to get very intense after the part where his grandmother died. My favorite character in the story was Hiram. He seemed like just a regular kid that wanted to be a farmer like his grandfather. For example, when a black guy was working in his grandfather’s fields, Hiram wanted to help. My least favorite character was definitely R.C. From the beginning of the book it seemed like he was an ok kid that just had some social problems, but when the part came when R.C cut the fish, and pored the blood all over Emmet, that’s when I really started to hate him. I thought it would be great for Hiram to have Emmet as a friend, because he would have had a good friend that’s good hearted to hang out with, instead of R.C. The scene that sticks out most to me is when Hiram’s neighbor told Hiram that he saw Hiram’s grandfather in the same car that the people who kidnapped Emmet in. This scene sticks out to me because I had a lot of respect for Hiram’s grandfather, because he seemed to be a loving, caring person, but when I read that it gave me a bad taste in my mouth. I also think he was irresponsible then, because he should have either told Hiram that he was there that night, or said something to the sheriff, because he should have know that someone was bound to find out that he was in the car, so why not speak up now. I liked the ending, but it kind of let you hanging when Hiram’s father asked if he loved him, but I think it was a good ending to. I’m also really glad that Hiram ended up seeing Naomi before he left. Dean F.
Mississippi Trial 1955 was a great book, and it has been my favorite so far. I think this book was really great because of how much the characters changed throughout the story, especially Hiram. At the beginning of the book, Hiram hadn’t seen hatred and racism. He thought his grandfather was the best person in the entire world and his dad was evil. At the end of the book, he had seen his dad’s point of view, and he had seen the flaws of his grandfather. He saw the world as it really was, and began to understand. My favorite character was Naomi because even though all she was going through with her family, she still cared enough about Hiram to convince him to not testify in court. I absolutely hated R.C., but I wasn’t sure how I felt about Grampa. I thought Grampa would end up being one of my favorite characters at the beginning of the book. At the end, I was so upset with him, not only because he was involved in the kidnapping. It really made me angry that he gave Hiram no support whatsoever. Hiram was obviously upset, but Grampa just responded by saying he didn’t know what he was talking about. I think many themes are presented in this book as well. Family, race, and ethics are just a few. One of the things I noticed was that there was more than one conflict. The main conflict was that Emmett had been murdered and the police need to find the murderer. Another one that I found very interesting was Hiram’s relationship with his father. It was interesting to see how the two conflicts affected each other. I see how it would impact Hiram and Grampa, but I don’t see how the scene where Gramma died fit into the story. It was significant, but I think the story could have started off with her not there and be just as understandable. I really liked how the author put humor and happiness every so often into the story. The scene with Ralph was really funny, and the scenes with Naomi always lightened the mood. They made the story seem to be not completely a tragedy. Mississippi Trial 1955 was my favorite reading bowl book so far.-Sarah H.